No.13 Fried Chicken and Biscuits

Chicken and biscuits are a southern US stable actually it is not that hard to make. The secret to this recipe is to do the prepartion the night before. The chicken can be trimmed, the biscuits can be in the freezer ready to be used and the dry ingredients can all be measured

Strangely this recipe goes against the classic buttermilk marinade in favour of a “cure”. The salt, sugar and baking soda mix tenderise the meat over night. Then for the dedging we go back to buttermilk and a double dip to get a super crispy batter.  The batter has a slight indian influence from tumeric for colour and nigella seeds as a replacement for onion powder. Overall this tweak to the the expected famous 11 herbs and spices makes it lighter tasing and will have everyone asking for more.

Serves: 4            

Time: 1 hour day before and 40 minutes on the day

Difficulty: Take your time

Day before

8 Chicken Thighs

2 tablespoons of Salt (chicken)

2 teaspoons of Baking Powder (chicken)

2 teaspoons of Light Brown Sugar (chicken)

350 grams Plain Flour, plus extra for dusting (biscuits)

1 teaspoon Baking Powder (biscuits)

1 teaspoon of Baking Soda (biscuits)

1 teaspoon of Salt (biscuits)

120 grams of butter (frozen) 

250 ml Buttermilk

 

On the day

1 and half cups of Plain Flour

1/2 cup of Corn Flour

1 tablespoon Garlic Powder

1 tablespoon Nigella Seeds

1 tablespoon of Cayenne

2 tablespoons of Salt

1 tablespoon of Cracked Black Pepper

1 teaspoon of Ground Turmeric

200-300ml of Buttermilk

1 Egg

The Day Before

1. Prepare the Chicken by triming off any excess fat and remove the bone if still attached.
2. Mix together the quantities of salt, sugar and baking powder for the chicken. Coat the chicken and place uncovered overnight in the fridge on a wire rack over a oven tray.
3. Now make the biscuits by mixing together quantities of flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder for the biscuits together. Grate Butter and mix together till small crumbs form. This can be done in a food processor. Note: the butter has to be frozen to let you grate it. An hour in the freezer should do this. This will ensure you get nice layers to your biscuits.
4. Add the buttermilk to the mix and combine. Move the mixture to a floured surface and work the dough into a rectangle. Now fold the rectangle on top of it’s self 6-7 times if possible. Roll the dough out again to a thumbs height. Use a round cutter and cut out the biscuits. Store in the freezer over night.

On the day

1. In a large pan add enough oil (rapeseed oil) to shallow fry the chicken  i.e. 2cms.
2. Give the biscuits an egg wash on top and place at 210 degrees celsius in an oven until golden brown. This should take 30-35 minutes
3. Mix together all the dry ingredients from “On the Day” ingredient list.
4. Dip the chicken in the buttermilk and then into the dry ingrediant mixture. Then repeat to double dip.
5. Shallow fry the chicken for 4 minutes each side. The oil should hover around 180 degrees Celsius (360 degrees Fahrenheit) taking care that the batter does not burn. This may need to be done in mutiple batches remembering that if all the chicken was cooked at once the temperture of the pan would drop meaning the chicken may need longer to cook.
6. Once cooked place in the oven until ready to be served when the biscuits are golden brown.